Never Gave A Damn About The Weather
by WinterSky101
Summary: Luke and Leia find themselves scared by a thunderstorm. Eighth in "Reinvent Love."


**Title is from "Do You Know What I'm Seeing" by Panic! at the Disco.**

* * *

Anakin has always liked rain. It almost never rained on Tatooine, and whenever it did, it was always cause for celebration. It doesn't rain much on Coruscant either, but when it does, the city gets the closest it ever comes to quiet.

And then, very occasionally, it'll thunderstorm.

Anakin has and always will maintain that the closest a non-Force sensitive can get to feeling the Force is standing in the middle of a thunderstorm. When he feels the electricity crackling in the air, he understands why Force lightning exists. The raw power of it is one of the few things that can make Anakin feel truly humbled.

But perhaps all of that is too much for Luke and Leia, because ever since the thunderstorm started this evening, they've been upset.

"What are you two even so upset about?" Anakin protests as Luke and Leia continue to whimper and cling to each other. "Thunderstorms are fun!"

"It's loud," Luke whines. "'N' scary!"

"Don't like it," Leia proclaims, then she lets out a little shriek and dives under the blanket when a crack of thunder fills the air. Luke clings to her, looking terrified. Anakin is just wondering how he's going to calm them down when he hears the door to the apartment open and feels two familiar presences enter. Thank the _Force_, Obi-Wan and Padmé are home.

"It's _pouring_ out there," Anakin hears Padmé say. "I'm soaked through."

"I should have picked you up," Obi-Wan replies. "I could have shielded you from the rain."

"Of course you tell me that _now_," Padmé groans.

A moment later, both of them appear in the door to Luke and Leia's room, Padmé dripping wet and Obi-Wan perfectly dry. "What are you two doing up?" Padmé asks, looking fondly over at Luke and Leia. "It's late! You should be sleeping!"

"It's _scary_!" Leia protests.

"'N' loud!" Luke adds.

"They don't like the thunderstorm," Anakin explains. Another clap of thunder booms through the room, and both twins duck under the blanket again. "Please tell me that one of you has an idea of how to calm them down."

"Why don't you like the thunderstorm, little ones?" Obi-Wan asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's too loud!" Leia cries, throwing herself into Obi-Wan's arms. "The sky is angry!"

"I don't _like_ it," Luke adds, clambering into Obi-Wan's lap as well.

"You know," Anakin says to Padmé in an undertone, "they're probably not going to fall asleep on their own. Or, at least, they won't _stay_ asleep."

Padmé gives Anakin a flat look. "I know what you're asking, Anakin Skywalker, and it's not going to work."

"Oh, come _on_!" Anakin protests. "Just this once? We'll really have it be just this once. Or just when there's a thunderstorm, at least."

"Anakin…"

"Look how they're clinging to Obi-Wan!" Anakin protests. Both twins are indeed clinging to Obi-Wan, who's trying to convince them in a gentle voice that thunderstorms are nothing to be afraid of. The twins don't seem willing to take his word for it. "Come _on_, please, angel?"

Padmé sighs heavily. "Fine, if Obi-Wan agrees."

Anakin beams at Padmé and quickly opens up his mental bond with Obi-Wan. _Should we let the kids sleep in our bed tonight?_ he asks.

_Haven't you been trying to convince Padmé to let them do that for the past three years?_ Obi-Wan replies, his mental voice warm with amusement.

_She says it's okay if you agree,_ Anakin says, feeling like a child asking his parents for permission. _Come on, agree!_

Obi-Wan snorts, then looks at the twins. "Do you think it would help you to be less frightened if you slept in our bed tonight?"

Luke and Leia look at him with wide eyes. "In your bed?" Leia asks. "With you and Mommy and Daddy?"

"All five of us," Anakin says. "What do you think?"

Luke and Leia look at each other, clearly having a very serious twin conversation. Then there's another clap of thunder, and both of them shriek and cling to Obi-Wan as tightly as they can.

"I wanna stay with you," Luke says in a small voice.

"Then you will," Obi-Wan replies. "Leia?"

"Me too," Leia agrees.

Obi-Wan gathers both children in his arms and lifts them effortlessly. "Shall we go to bed, then?"

"You get them tucked in," Padmé says. "Anakin, will you help me with my dress?"

Normally, when Anakin helps Padmé with one of her dresses, it's a drawn-out affair that leads to the two of them leaving the bathroom more flushed and disheveled than when they went in. Obi-Wan normally prefers not to join them, but he doesn't mind when they do it themselves. This time, though, with Obi-Wan in their bedroom with the twins, the thought of lingering doesn't feel quite right. Anakin undoes the long row of buttons on Padmé's back, then he helps her step out of the dress without wrinkling it too much.

"It's soaked," Padmé says, frowning a little. "We'll have to hang it up to dry."

Anakin gathers up the dress and drapes it over the shower curtain rod. "Is this good?"

"It'll do," Padmé replies. "Dormé can deal with it tomorrow."

Padmé's nightgown is easy enough for her to slip into, and Anakin presses a few kisses to the side of her neck as she brushes her hair, then they leave the bathroom and head to the bedroom. Obi-Wan is sitting in the middle of the bed, Luke and Leia at his sides, and he's telling them something in a voice that's just quiet enough that Anakin can hear the comforting rumble of it but can't make out the actual words. Whatever he's saying seems to be calming Luke and Leia down, though, so Anakin supposes that's what really matters.

"Are you taking the middle tonight?" Padmé asks, settling in next to Luke.

"The twins both want to be next to me," Obi-Wan replies, lying down. "But if you'd rather-"

"No, I think Padmé and I both want to be next to you too," Anakin replies, lying down next to Leia. "Are we all ready to sleep, then?"

Leia yawns and curls up against Obi-Wan's side. "'M ready."

"Me too," Luke agrees, somehow managing to get closer to Padmé without moving away from Obi-Wan at all.

"Go to sleep, then," Anakin says, running a hand through Leia's hair, and within a few minutes, both of them have.

"How did you calm them down?" Padmé asks Obi-Wan quietly. "They seemed so upset."

"Well, coming in here helped," Obi-Wan replies. "And as for the rest… I just told them what the crèche masters told me when I was little and afraid of thunderstorms myself."

"You were afraid of thunderstorms?" Anakin asks.

Obi-Wan shrugs. "They're loud, and they resonate in the Unifying Force. But the crèche masters taught me that thunder was nothing to be afraid of."

"I can't really imagine it," Anakin admits. "Little baby Obi-Wan, afraid of thunder."

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. "It was a short phase."

"Well," Padmé says, "short phase or not, I suppose you can be in charge of comforting the twins during thunderstorms from now on. You're clearly better at it than Anakin."

"Hey!" Anakin protests. "But also, she's right, you can do it from now on, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan lets out a quiet huff of laughter. "I suppose, for the children's sake, I must."

"We can also let them sleep in our bed," Anakin adds.

Padmé groans. "Anakin…"

"Only when there's a thunderstorm!" Anakin protests quickly. "Not _all_ the time. But come on, Padmé, when they're _scared_…"

"I have the feeling," Obi-Wan says to Padmé in a low voice, "that Anakin isn't going to let up on this until we agree."

"You may be right," Padmé agrees.

"You two don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Anakin whines. He's a bit too loud, and both Obi-Wan and Padmé immediately hush him when Leia scrunches her face up and rolls over. Luckily, she doesn't wake up.

"I suppose," Padmé says, "we can let the twins sleep in our bed when they're scared like this. But only sometimes. I'm not having them sleep in our bed every night."

"It _is_ big enough," Obi-Wan remarks. His voice isn't quite innocent enough to distract from the small smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare," Padmé tells him in a quiet but stern voice. "Luke and Leia are only sleeping in our bed during thunderstorms."

"And after nightmares," Anakin adds.

Padmé sighs. "And after nightmares."

"Well," Obi-Wan said, "if we're all agreed, then should we get some sleep ourselves?"

"Sounds good to me," Anakin replies. "Night, Obi-Wan. Night, angel."

"Goodnight," Padmé replies, curling around Luke a little more and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight," Obi-Wan echoes softly.

Outside, the thunderstorm rages on, but inside, everyone is too comfortable wrapped up in each other's warmth to care.


End file.
